Agrovoltaic energy can be a great ally in the fight against climate change, as well as an opportunity for development in rural areas.

Talking about new opportunities in the development of renewable energy is always positive; and even more so when these can help the development of rural areas, which in some parts of Spain are continuously losing population year after year (up to 31% in provinces like Zamora or 30% in Lugo), putting the very existence of some rural populations at risk, losing a unique cultural heritage and neglecting a sector as important to our society as the primary sector. That is why today we want to pause our hectic lives to explain what this “new” trend called agrovoltaic energy is and why it can be a great support to fill some of these rural areas with life again. Let’s get to it.

Agrovoltaic energy – also known as agrivoltaics or agrophotovoltaics – is nothing more than the fusion of two economic activities that we all know: agriculture and photovoltaic energy. The idea itself is to take advantage of arable areas for the installation of solar panels on the plantations themselves on the same surface. Although, at first, this may seem counterproductive – as the panels absorb sunlight and deprive the plantations of it – there are a multitude of crops that can benefit from this curious symbiosis between the world of electricity generation and that of food production. Thus, some foods such as red peppers, broccoli, pitaya, eggplant, cauliflower and zucchini would benefit from this relationship between light, so necessary to generate photovoltaic electricity, and shade, key to the growth of these vegetables.

This curious technique is not something that has arrived overnight, but rather took its first steps under the protection of Adolf Goetzberger and Armin Zastrow in 1981. However, its applicability has proven useful during the last decade, in which this symbiosis has flourished in a more than relevant way. Examples of this include some projects such as those developed by Endesa with the afrovoltaic plants of Valdecaballeros and Augusto in Extremadura, Totana in Murcia and Las Corchas in Andalusia. Such is the importance and potential of this technique that Iberdrola launched the international challenge ‘Start-up Challenge: Agrovoltaic Energy’ last year in 2021; a competition to find innovative solutions that allow, according to the company itself, “to boost the local economy, especially in those regions facing the demographic challenge caused by progressive depopulation, while we continue to fight against climate change and favoring the energy transition.”

Why can agrovoltaic energy represent an opportunity for rural environments?

Global energy demand, constantly growing with the increase in population and the greater electrification of the economy, constantly requires new electricity generation plants. These projects, depending on the area of ​​​​the world in which we are located, tend to be built far from large population agglomerations, to avoid direct impacts on cities, although they end up being developed in rural areas. A trend that is also reflected in the construction of photovoltaic plants, which in countries like Spain end up being built in unpopulated areas with a mainly rural economy, where a significant part of the economic livelihood comes from agriculture and livestock. This initial situation is what brings to the table a meeting point between these two worlds. On the one hand, the rural world, with a need for new projects that generate activity in their area to attract population, and the urban world, with a growing need for clean energy that guarantees the decarbonisation objectives of the economy. That’s why the economic activity generated around the development, installation, and maintenance of these new photovoltaic parks can represent an opportunity to attract complementary economic activities and auxiliary industries. Furthermore, these projects not only focus on the recovery of agricultural or livestock activities, but also support the recovery, promotion, and improvement of some local habitats, promoting the care of local flora and fauna through pollinating species. This is where we find interesting projects related to beekeeping. Thus, the panels would serve as a home for bees, which—with a plantation based on aromatic species such as sage, rosemary, lavender, or cilantro—would help pollinate the areas and, in turn, generate related economic activity. The “solar apiary,” as it’s called in this Endesa post related to a project promoted by the company. A prime example of the multitude of symbioses represented by agrovoltaics.